According to the United States Energy Information
Administration (EIA) preliminary data, US utility-scale power generation rose
by 4% in 2018, pulled by a 13% increase in gas-fired power generation and by a
9% hike in renewable generation (excluding hydropower). Coal-fired power
generation continued to decline in 2018 (-5%), while hydropower generation
dipped by 3% and nuclear production remained stable. Consequently, the share of
coal in large-scale power generation fell to 27% in 2018, while that of gas
rose to 35%.
This 4% rise in power generation is due to the increased
demand in the commercial and residential sectors, largely attributable to a hot
summer season and a cold winter. Since the use of electricity for air
conditioning (and space heating purpose at a lesser extent) is significant, the
population-weighted cooling and heating degree-days were also higher in 2018.
Both the commercial and residential sectors achieved higher
retail sales of electricity in 2018 as 35% of the US homes use electricity as
their primary heating source in winter, while 87% of US households cool their
homes in the summer with air conditioning devices. Residential and commercial
electricity sales were 6% and 2% higher in 2018 than in the previous year,
respectively. Electricity sales in the industrial sector were 3% lower in 2018.
On the longer run, the EIA predicts that domestic power
consumption will continue to increase but at a slower rate than in recent
years, mainly driven by economy and population growth but moderated by
technology improvements and energy efficiency measures. Commercial and
residential sectors are forecast to grow at rates of 0.5% and 0.4%,
respectively.
Source: enerdata
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